July 14, 2012, 1:24 UTC+3A flood hit the Kuban area in the small hours of July 7. It claimed 171 lives and inundated over 5,000 homes in three cities – Gelendzhik, Krymsk and Novorossisk

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MOSCOW, July 14 (Itar-Tass) —— A group of leading scientists and experts will visit the flood-stricken city of Krymsk on Saturday in order to draft proposals for engineering protection measures and improving the existing urban construction practices, the chief of the federal agency for water resources, Marina Seliverstova, told the media on Friday.

“We shall take a look at the disaster area from a helicopter and on the ground to see how exactly the flood occurred, and what measures should be taken to protect territories with engineering methods and to take steps to improve our current urban construction practices,” Seliverstova said, adding that the group of experts she would be leading herself would present its findings and proposals to the government by the end of next week.

A flood hit the Kuban area in the small hours of July 7. It claimed 171 lives and inundated over 5,000 homes in three cities – Gelendzhik, Krymsk and Novorossisk - and some villages. Over 34,500 people were affected, 29,000 lost all their belongings. Over 640 homes were ruined beyond repair.

The official version of the disaster points to last weekend’s heavy showers. Over just several hours Gelendzhik had 304 mm of rain, the Krymsk area, 171 mm, and Novorossisk, 300 mm (the annual norm is about 700 mm).